Charles VIII of France

Charles VIII "the Affable" of France (30 June 1470-7 April 1498) was King of France from 30 August 1483 to 7 April 1498, succeeding Louis XI of France and preceding Louis XII of France. Charles' achievements included defeating rebellious nobles during the "Mad War", creating a personal union with Brittany, and starting the Italian Wars with a 1494 bid to claim the throne of the Kingdom of Naples. He died accidentally when he hit his head on the lintel of a door, and the Orleans cadet branch of the House of Valois inherited the throne; his former rival, the Duke of Orleans, became "King Louis XII".

Biography
Charles was born at the Chateau d'Amboise, France in 1470, the son of King Louis XI of France and Charlotte of Savoy. He became King of France on his father's death in 1483, and he almost immediately faced opposition from his nobles. In the "Mad War" of 1485-1488, King Charles and his regent, Anne of France, fought against a coalition of feudal lords demanding decentralization. England, Spain, and the Holy Roman Empire supported the rebels, but he succeeded in crushing the opposition. He controversially married Anne of Brittany in 1491, despite her state of proxy marriage to Emperor Maximilian I of Germany. In doing so, Charles became administrator of Brittany, and Brittany entered a personal union with the Kingdom of France. Charles was also promised the throne of the Kingdom of Naples by the Pope in 1489, and King Charles sought to restore Angevin rule to the nation.

Italian Wars
In 1494, Charles invaded Italy, allying with Duke Ludovico Sforza of Milan. Charles bought the neutrality of England and Austria with large concessions, and he led a massive army (including one of Europe's first siege trains) into Italy. He did not face much resistance, and the cities that resisted found their walls and defenses blasted by heavy artillery and their defenders and inhabitants massacred. After the fanatical Catholic monk Girolamo Savonarola seized power in Florence with French help, Pope Alexander VI feared that France would interfere in Papal affairs, and he assembled an alliance of states against him. The Italian War of 1494-98 saw the French succeed in taking Naples in 1495, only to be forced to withdraw through Italy as Spain and its Italian allies fought the French to a standstill. In 1495, Charles returned to the Chateau d'Amboise. On 7 April 1498, while on his way to watch a tennis game, he struck his head on the lintel of a door, fell into a coma, and died nine hours later of subdural hematoma.